Great cormorant (English name: Phalacrocorax carbo)

Japanese: カワウ（英語表記）Phalacrocorax carbo; great cormorant

Order: Gannetidae, family: Cormorantidae. Total length: 80-100cm. The head, neck, chest, belly, and tail are black, and the back and wings are dark brown. Yellow skin is exposed around the base of the beak and under the eyes, and the feathers around it are white. During the breeding season, many white reproductive feathers (→ plumage) appear on the head and upper neck, and large white spots appear on the thighs. They are widely distributed, including southern Eurasian continent from Europe to East Asia, Australia, eastern North America, western Greenland, and northern Africa. They live in lakes, rivers, and coastal seas, and mainly dive to catch fish. They breed in groups, and in Japan they mainly build nests in trees, but in some areas they build them on the ground. The breeding season varies depending on the habitat, and in Africa they breed all year round. In Japan, the population decreased to around 3,000 in the 1960s and 1970s, and nesting sites were limited to a few places, such as Aomori Prefecture, Shinobazu Pond in Ueno, Taito Ward, Tokyo, Uonoyama (a national natural monument) on the Chita Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture, and Oita Prefecture. However, since the 1980s, the population has begun to increase, causing damage to inland fisheries and other areas in various areas.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

カツオドリ目ウ科。全長 80～100cm。頭上から頸，胸，腹，尾は黒く，背と翼は暗褐色。眼の先や下，嘴の基部は黄色の皮膚が裸出し，その周囲の羽毛は白色。繁殖期には頭と上頸に白色の生殖羽（→羽衣）が多数生じ，腿部に大きな白斑が現れる。分布はユーラシア大陸のヨーロッパから東アジアにかけての南部，オーストラリア，北アメリカ東部，グリーンランド西部，アフリカ北部など広い。湖沼や河川，沿岸海域などで生活し，潜水しておもに魚類をとる。集団繁殖し，日本ではおもに樹上に巣をつくるが，地面の上につくる地域もある。繁殖期は生息地により異なり，アフリカでは周年にわたって繁殖する。日本では生息数が 1960～70年代に 3000羽ほどに減少し，集団営巣地も青森県，東京都台東区上野の不忍池，愛知県知多半島の鵜の山（国の天然記念物），大分県など数ヵ所に存在するのみであったが，1980年代頃から増加に転じ，各地で内水面漁業などに被害をもたらしている。

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